Christians mark anniversary of 2008 Mangalore violence

Prayers and vigil were held to mark the second anniversary of the 2008 church attacks in Karnataka.

A special mass was held by Bishop Aloysius Paul D'Souza of Mangalore, praying for the victims of the violence and witnesses involved in the justice process.

Bishop D'Souza issued a circular asking his people to mark the anniversary as "a day of prayer for peace" among all religions.

The 2008 violence was a wave of attacks directed against Christian churches and prayer halls by the Bajrang Dal.

Over 20 churches and several prayer halls in Mangalore, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Kolar and other small districts in Karanataka were attacked.

Melwyn Noronha, a lawyer representing Christians before the Justice B K Somashekar Commission, told UCA News that the group's probe on the violence will soon conclude its proceedings, with its final hearing held last Aug. 9.

The latest hearing involved Mahendra Kumar, the former state chief of Bajrang Dal, a Hindu radical group accused of attacking Christians in the state.

"He has confessed that their agenda is to create a Hindu nation in India as recorded by the commission reports," Noronha revealed.

The Justice Somashekhar Commission of Inquiry was instituted by the Karnataka government to inquire into the sequence of events and circumstances that led to the attack on churches in September 2008.

In his interim report, Justice Somashekhar, a former High Court judge, accused top police officers, district administration and other authorities for colluding with the right-wing Hindu organisations during the violence on Christians.

Somashekhar suggested Karnataka's BJP government to publicly state its commitment to protect all religions.

The violence in Mangalore followed weeks of Hindu–Christian clashes in the eastern state of Orissa.

The Somashekhar commission has conducted a total of 919 hours-long sittings to complete the examination of 988 petitions.